Jon Rahm sent Ryder Cup warning by Padraig Harrington

Padraig Harrington has warned Jon Rahm that Ryder Cup Europe were never going to change their rules just for him.

The row over Rahm’s eligibility for next year’s showdown in New York continues to rumble on, with the Spaniard’s involvement on Luke Donald’s side seemingly back on track on Thursday.

Rahm needs to play three more DP World Tour events to retain his card and remain available to Luke Donald for the 2025 match at Bethpage Black.

And it appears that the two-time major champion now has a reprieve after following Tyrrell Hatton’s lead and appealing his fines from Wentworth HQ for playing conflicting LIV Golf events.

It means, for now, Rahm can return to the Tour pending appeal and will be eligible selection by captain Donald.

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“I’m a stickler for the rules. You know what the rules say and you stick to them,” Harrington said on Wednesday before Rahm lodged his late appeal.

“I know Jon Rahm. Big fan of Jon. And if the rules are written down, you’ve got to go about and stick to them. That’s just the way it is. It’s very important for the Ryder Cup – the Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match.

“I know people want to make out that it’s this one match every two years, but the Ryder Cup is The European Tour. It is the backbone of The European Tour. I would have been a strong advocate of stronger rules in the past of four events is not a lot.

“And I know the independent, the neutral would say, you know, it should be just European-born players against US born players, but it’s very important to the European Tour. The European Tour doesn’t have a lot of leverage to get players to come across and play here.

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“It is a very tough situation for the European Tour. It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and The Ryder Cup in the sense of they really do want to have the best team and there is a case for saying, you know, give ourselves the best chance of winning, that’s as important a factor as anything in be keeping the European Tour at the forefront of golf.”

Rahm scored three-and-a-half of Europe’s nine-points tally when Harrington was captain in the 2021 humbling away at Whistling Straits. His presence is seen as indispensable in New York.

But regardless of the outcome of his appeal that will not be known for several months, Harrington reiterated that the Tour could not climbdown simply because of the Spaniard’s importance to Donald’s team.

“I’m a guy for sticking to the rules but it puts us in an awkward situation because in 12 months’ time I will actually want Jon Rahm playing in the match.

“But the 12th guy who qualifies, sticking to the rules or gets bumped out, he’s not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can’t forget that person, either.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.